Passover, Part 2

Thursday night, we reflected on the story of the Passover. Emily shared with us a summary and reflection on the story of deliverance that she had written for the occasion. Here’s what she wrote:

Tonight we are going to retell the greatest story ever told. This is the story of God’s salvation coming to man.

There once was a people. These people looked like you and me. They slept, ate, worked, and lived in families. But all was not well with their lives. They lived under a dark cloud of slavery. They were oppressed by an evil empire, and lived under the yoke of fear and hatred - without hope and without God in the world. Oh, they had heard of God. Way back in a distant memory they had heard that there was a creator god. But they had never seen him. In this dark world of theirs, the only gods they knew were the evil gods of the Egyptians, who they toiled for night and day, building temples and palaces for them. The Egyptian gods had control of their lives and there was no way to be freed. It was a very bitter life.

One day a messenger named Moses appeared. He told the people that they were children of the Supreme God. This Supreme God of the universe was near to them and was planning to save them. Some of them believed and some did not. But to those who believed, hope began to pour into their heart. This hope began to assuage the bitterness and taste sweet like honey.

The Supreme God began to fight the evil forces of the gods of Egypt. He sent plagues to confront each god and show that he was the true ruler of the universe. After many days, Moses told the people that the supreme God’s judgment would come at last.

Exodus 12:12 – “In the night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn – both men and animals – and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.”

The people were told to kill a lamb and put the lamb’s blood on the door frames of their houses. If they obeyed God by doing this, they would be saved from the death angel, and would be liberated from their slavery. They believed and trusted God, and did as they were told. Each family killed a lamb and painted the doorframe of their houses with the lamb’s blood. Then they sat down and ate their last meal in Egypt together. When the death angel came, the firstborn in Egypt died. But the people of God were saved from death and liberated at last!

The sacrifice of a lamb became so intertwined with salvation in the consciousness of the people of God that many years later when John the Baptist saw Jesus he said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

The people of God never forgot how they had escaped slavery. They never forgot how God had saved them from death through the blood of the Lamb. Long afterwards, every year they celebrated the Passover feast with bread and wine and told the story of their liberation. 1500 years later, Jesus himself celebrated the Passover with his disciples.

The new freedom that came to the people of God long ago isn’t just something that died off with that generation. Freedom and liberation have come for the people of God of every generation. The old way of bondage is gone, the new time of liberation has come into the world!